I Became Stalin?!

Chapter 174

“How long have we yearned for this! How long have we waited for this! The day when the Koreans become the masters of this land again!”

“Hooray! Hooray! Long live the independence of Korea!”

The Japanese colonialists could suppress the dockworkers’ strike, but they could not stop the strikes and protests from spreading across the country.

Korea was no longer a ‘submissive’ colony, but rather a black hole that devoured the troops that were scarce to deploy in the continent and the Pacific.

Frequently, protest groups ranging from dozens to hundreds attacked the police stations and government offices set up by the Japanese, and all kinds of sabotage and assassination followed.

‘The day belongs to the empire, but the night belongs to the Koreans.’

Among the bureaucrats of the Governor-General’s Office, there were fewer who had not been targeted for assassination. 

The Japanese bureaucrats and pro-Japanese collaborators had to avoid eye contact and be nervous even on the roadside, fearing the bullets that might fly at them.

When the news came that the Soviet Union had defeated the Japanese ally, the German Empire, the Korean Peninsula was swept by ecstasy.

“Now the Soviet Union will support the liberation of our oppressed nations!”

“Woohoo! Long live the Soviet Union! Long live the Communist Party of Korea!”

The Communist Party of Korea had grown into the largest and most powerful political organization in Korea by 1944.

The Communist Party of Korea organized the dockworkers’ strike to block the Japanese rice export, and the railway strike to cut off the supply of the Kwantung Army in Manchuria.

It also contributed to the victory of the National Revolutionary Army in China. The assassins under the Communist Party of Korea, the ‘Red Death’, had killed so many high-ranking Japanese officials that they could not be counted with both hands and feet.

“So… the Soviet Union and Japan are allies! The Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact is still valid…”

The Japanese tried to cover up the truth with their palms. The Japanese bureaucrats repeated the same story they had always done. They were more panicked and scared, but still.

The Soviet Union was an ally of Japan that had signed a neutrality pact, and the loyal and invincible imperial soldiers on the front lines of the continent and the Pacific were waiting for the final battle that would crush the United States and China!

But they could not hide the worsening economic situation, the increasing number of workers being dragged away, and the soldiers who returned dead or crippled.

And when the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact was abolished, the Japanese government fell into a panic.

But the ones who had been eagerly waiting for this day were not.

“Oh my…”

“Oh dear…”

A crowd of people gathered in Seoul. Young men with white bands on their heads, gentlemen in suits, people who came from the countryside with bundles, children who followed the others out, and young wives with sleeping babies.

The Seoul Station Square was literally crowded with tens of thousands of people.

“Where did they all come from!”

“…We will find out!”

The policemen were stunned by the size of the crowd. At that time, the population of the eight provinces of Korea was less than thirty million. The population of Seoul was 600,000, but how could there be so many people?

Maybe they had never seen so many people gathered before, the crowd seemed to be having fun. 

There were some who wore red bands on their arms or heads and maintained order, but the masses were surprisingly orderly without their control.

While the police were confused and flustered, a man climbed onto a makeshift podium.

A roar of cheers shook the heavens and the earth. The people who were so far behind that they couldn’t even see who was in front, just shouted along with the others.

But if they had known, they would have had the same reaction.

A dignified and handsome middle-aged man waved his hand to the people on the stage. The Japanese police who were watching the scene were shocked.

“Yeo Un-hyung! Why is he here!”

“Sorry, sorry!”

“Damn it! Sorry!”

If you asked who was leading the independence movement in Korea, about six out of ten would probably say Yeo Un-hyung. Some who claimed to know something might point to Park Heon-young, the secretary-general of the Communist Party of Korea, and some might mention Cho Bong-am, the chairman of the organization of the Korean Workers’ Party, but the most popular and famous leader among the masses was Yeo Un-hyung.

Dozens of speakers were installed from somewhere and delivered his voice to the masses.

“The world war is now decided by the defeat of the Axis powers. Korean people. The Japanese who have illegally occupied this peninsula will eventually be destroyed by the coalition of the Soviet Union, the United States, and China. The spring of liberation is coming to the Korean Peninsula!”

“What is he saying now! Hurry up and disperse them!”

Whether the police were startled or said something, they could not suppress the crowd of tens of thousands with a few hundred policemen. The police themselves were nervous because of the gun barrels that the communist assassins might be aiming at them from somewhere. How dare they?

“…And so, our ‘National Foundation Alliance’ will prepare for independence from Japan and fight for the construction of a free nation of Koreans. Long live the independence of Korea! Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!”

“Hoorayyyyy!!!”

“Hooray! Hooray!!”

“Nat… National Foundation Alliance?”

The underground organization of Koreans that had been rumored for a long time was created under the leadership of the Communist Party of Korea? 

The police commanders who were on the scene opened their mouths and could not speak.

The independence movement of the Koreans had been crushed since more than ten years ago, and most of them recognized the ultimate goal of the Korean movement as ‘autonomy within the Japanese Empire’. 

They wanted to expand the autonomy and participation rights of the Koreans and become an equal region in the end.

But a complete nation-building? They knew that the day of collapse was approaching, but…

“Stop! Stop it! Don’t let his words spread any further…!”

***

“Come this way, please.”

“Oh… oh… my hometown…”

Taking advantage of the night, dozens of people left the South Railway Station and hit the road. They were led by a sturdy young man.

They were all shabby and thin people. Judging by their whispering voices, they were Koreans.

From the corners of Tokyo to Osaka, Nagoya, Kyoto, and other major cities in Japan, Koreans were escaping in groups like this.

The Communist Party of Korea was preparing for the escape of the Koreans in Japan in collaboration with the Japanese Communist Party. 

Soon, the Soviet Union would declare war on Japan, and the powerful Soviet army would be able to liberate Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula, they all thought.

But even though the Japanese navy was broken and cornered, it was still stronger than the Soviet Far East fleet.

That’s why the Soviets planned to bomb the Japanese islands with the help of the Americans and urged the Koreans to escape. The Koreans were shocked by this news and started to flee from the cities.

Similar rumors spread among the members and workers of the Japanese Communist Party, and they also abandoned their homes and jobs and ran away to the countryside or rural areas.

“What the hell! Where did everyone go!”

“…They’re not even in the dorms?”

“Ugh… Damn Chosenjin bastards…”

The manager who said that was also trembling with fear inside.

The rumors spread like wildfire. 

The Koreans’ declaration of independence and Germany’s collapse were known through various channels, even to those who were the most ignorant of the world affairs.

And those who had mouths and brains could guess. Korea was receiving support from the Soviet Union, so the Koreans must have received some kind of order. 

If the Soviets were evacuating the Koreans from the Japanese cities…

The pictures of the blazing fire left a deep impression on many people. The mushroom cloud that rose over Berlin was spread by the journalists who were looking for scoops.

“Hey, Tanaka.”

“Huh? What’s up?”

“Don’t we have to evacuate too…?”

The Japanese workers also whispered among themselves and shared what they had learned. Their cousin’s nephew was connected to the Communist Party and they also took their valuables and ran north. 

Their uncle was farming in Akita and people were flocking there.

Gossip and nonsense swept the islands. 

And above the people who were plunged into chaos, the American bombers dropped bombs again today.

***

“How many nuclear bombs can we prepare now?”

“Yes! Comrade Secretary General. Dr. Kurchatov’s research team reported that they could prepare about 20 nuclear bombs of the same power as the one dropped on Berlin within a month.”

Kruglov, the new NKVD chief who took over after Beria’s purge, attended the meeting and reported instead of Beria.

Of course, the NKVD would no longer be the NKVD. 

It was now functioning as a foreign intelligence, domestic surveillance, police, and quasi-military organization, but this function would be torn apart and distributed to various agencies.

The general police function would be the Ministry of Internal Affairs Police Department, the secret police sector would be drastically reduced, the domestic information would be the Federal Security Agency, the foreign information would be the Foreign Intelligence Agency, and the prison management and others would be the Correctional Bureau, to be torn into at least four pieces.

The military coup was not a concern, as there was already a political commissar system, but rather the possibility of a coup by the intelligence agency was high. 

The KGB alumni were stalwarts near the power, such as Andropov in the Soviet era, or Putin and the oligarchs after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

“Twenty…”

Kruglov seemed to know exactly what was on my mind, and unlike Beria, he did not covet power and try to take over the whole department. 

He rather cooperated thoroughly with the upper organization’s reform attempts.

With this attitude, he would be able to survive in the upper echelons of power for quite a long time. Beria was too greedy for power and could not be left alone.

If he had just stayed still, he would have enjoyed the highest glory. But he was too greedy…

“Have you analyzed the locations of the Japanese cities where we will drop the nuclear bombs?”

“Yes! The relevant data is here.”

The Politburo debated on various issues related to the nuclear weapon sharing with the United States, the war with Japan, and so on.

When we compared our development company with the United States, we concluded that the United States could develop nuclear bombs within a few years, and the Politburo agreed to provide nuclear weapons in exchange for aid without hesitation.

Because they gave us a lot of money. Quite a lot.

Of course, we tried to delay as much as possible by keeping a few secret ones, but most of them were decided to be dropped on Japan.

Sato, the ambassador, conveyed the country’s policy of ‘war’ in response to the Soviet’s notification of ‘empire dissolution or war’ and returned home. We were wondering where and how many to drop on Japan.

“Hmm… Tokyo has about 6 million people, Osaka has 3 million, Nagoya has 1.3 million, Kyoto has 1 million, and Yokohama and Kobe barely fall short of 1 million… The rest are mediocre?”

“That’s right, Comrade Secretary General!”

“Let’s focus on dropping the nuclear bombs only south of this 36th parallel.”

Even if we turn the Japanese islands into a hellish place with defoliants and radiation, someone has to live there. 

If we divide and rule Japan with the United States, we will have to place a considerable number of Soviets on the islands.

“Let’s burn the rest without mercy.”

“Yes!”

If it’s south of the 36th parallel, Tokyo barely fits in. 

Most of the Japanese cities, located in western Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku, will be included.

“Is the rescue operation still in need of more time?”

“Yes! We have completed the introduction of the main targets. But those who strongly refuse…”

“There’s nothing we can do.”

If we did our best within our limits, we can’t help it after that. Collateral damage is inevitable.

“Don’t think of it as a won war, but be prepared for everything.”

“Understood, Comrade Secretary General!”